Tips for decluttering when moving

There are many reasons to consider decluttering when moving. From purely a moving perspective, it will save you money. This is because most professional moving companies calculate the cost of moving based on the volume of your possessions plus the distance of the move. The more there is to move, the more it costs. Likewise, if you make some smart decisions around decluttering, you’ll save money on your move. Here are some ideas to help you get started.

Keep, sell, donate, recycle or throw away?

We’ve posted many articles about this being the best approach to sorting out your household possessions to prepare for moving. If you’re unfamiliar with the process, it’s a method for sorting and downsizing before you move. Select all the items you want to keep, sell any of value you don’t, donate useful items to charity, recycle any that can be used again, or send items to the tip if they have no further use.

What we’re looking at in this article is the items that might sneak into your keep pile, adding unnecessary bulk to your move. These are typically items that still have some perceived value in the household. But do they? Here are some examples.

Toys, toys, toys…

If you have kids, you’ll know how quickly you amass toys and other items for play. Toys serve a purpose for teaching children certain skills, such as sorting, posting, hand and eye coordination and so forth. As children master these skills, they lose interest in these toys in the desire to move on to more challenging play. Clear out any toys they haven’t touched in a while and lighten your load.

Clothing

While light in weight, clothing adds a lot of bulk to your move. Remember, moving costs are based on volume. A dozen more boxes filled with clothing becomes expensive if you don’t wear those clothes anymore. As a starting point, gather all the clothes you haven’t worn in over a year. How much space are you saving?

Also, if you have kids, all those outgrown clothes sitting in the cupboard will only add more cost to your move. Sell them or give them away to clear even more space.

Appliances

We have appliances for every purpose these days, and we tend to collect many more than we need, especially when they’re cheap. But all those cheap appliances become a lot more costly if you have to pack them up and move them. Like your clothes, start by gathering all the appliances you haven’t used in over a year. Are you likely to use any again? How much space are you saving if you sell them or give them away?

If you have large appliances that you don’t want to take, such as a chest freezer or a spare fridge, you could offer them as additional chattels for the new homeowner. Otherwise, contact a secondhand appliance dealer as an easy option for clearing anything that’s hard to move.

Mattresses

Other than your furniture, the next largest item in any move is a mattress. Most mattresses need replacing approximately every ten years, so use moving as an excuse to dispose of any worn out, lumpy mattresses. If you need to replace the mattress, order one for your new home and get it delivered. After moving, you’ll appreciate having a great sleep on a brand new bed.

Big, hard to move stuff

Finally, take a hard look at any item that’s large, hard to move, or that might need special handling. Examples could include items like fish tanks, gym equipment, large musical instruments, an old trampoline and so forth. Do you really still want them? Are they totally irreplaceable if you change your mind? How much space will you save if you bid them a fond farewell?

The answers to all these questions will be different for every person going through the decluttering process, but we hope this gets you thinking differently about your next move. As always, if we can be of any further help, please give us a call.